The Moon's Minion
by Galadriel Gryffindor
Summary: A short song-fiction based on the story of Selene and Endymion, set to Alessandro Safina's song "Luna."


The Moon's Minion

Based on the song Luna (Only You), performed by Alessandro Safina and written by G.F. Pintus and Romano Musumarra. The song belongs to them and is copyrighted by Music for a Better World and Interscope Records. To learn more, please visit www.alessandrosafina.it, http:www.safinafanclub.nl/index.htm, and http:home.kabelfoon.nl/asafina/. The music video of the song is accessible at http:www.click2music.it/minisiti/safina/.

Any comments or reviews will be greatly appreciated.

"…look upon Endymion, the moon's minion…"

-Thomas Dekker

In the space between the spheres of the heavens and the earth lay the dominion of the Moon. Mare di Serenità it was often called, the Sea of Serenity, a flowing sea bathed in the mantle of the Moon's silver light, sometimes bright, other times dark, occasionally dappled by the sparkle of starlike raindrops and rippled by the breath of the lunar wind.

The waves ended at a rocky beach of black sand, from which hills rose gradually, like a great black jewels that shimmered silver and grey in her light, beautiful, but barren save for one place, a large outcropping hidden from view below. Here, obscured by the dark stone and sand surrounding it, lay a white marble palace gleaming like a pearl in the night. A wide lawn stretched out before it almost to the edge of the precipice, where it gave way to a smooth stone landing before ending in a low stone wall above the sandy incline.

Inside the palace, the rooms were lofty and spacious, simply but elegantly furnished in shades of white and silver. The furnishings, and sometimes even the rooms, would shift to suit the palace's single occupant.

That occupant, sensing the Lady's presence on the softly moving air, emerged from the pillared entrance. Tastefully black-clad, the tall, slim figure moved to the center of the lawn to meet her.

Though invisible, the Lady smiled, moving around the dark figure whose eyes followed her unerringly even though they could not see her. Her sigh of pleasure fluttered the lapels of the jacket and the points of the unbuttoned collar. The corners of the mouth turned upward in a smile as the Moon's companion, worshipper, and lover sensed her scrutiny.

The wind of her hands caressed his face as she ran invisible fingers over his features, studying him. Handsome and refined, the cheeks just high enough, classical, but not haughty. Thick dark brows over knowing brown eyes. The nose slender and proportionate to the rest of the face. Lips with just the right fullness that knew innocent laughter and seductive smiles equally well. A slight cleft in the chin and an olive tinge to the skin. Short-cropped black hair shot with grey, due to his long association with the Moon rather than old age, ancient though he was. Indeed, aside from that, his appearance had remained entirely unchanged from the moment she had chosen him. Only the knowing sureness of his demeanor hinted at his true age.

It had been many times many years since he had joined her, so long ago that his story had passed into legends with little resemblance to the truth, though the Grecian myth came closest. Their lore told of a man who captured the Moon's heart and was placed in an immortal sleep so that she would be able to look upon him for all time.

But that was only a small part of the story. The Lady had been attracted by his beauty, but it was only one of many things she loved about him. Rather than put him in an enchanted repose, she had brought him to her own realm, where age and death could not take him from her.

He left his world having never taken wife or lover, though many had tried to attract him. He had come into her embrace gladly, and as the world turned, and turned again, he had grown in wisdom and spirit while remaining as humble, gentle, and passionate as he had been when she had come to him for the first time. Ages of men passed, but she never tired of him, nor he of her.

"What is it, Heart's Lady?"

She smiled inwardly. They had been together for so long that he could discern any mood. It was for that understanding, both of herself and of those on earth, she had sought him out this night.

The breeze whispered to him.

_Who am I, you who knows me better than all others?_

_Only you can hear my soul_

A curious light showed in his dark eyes as he contemplated his reply.

_Luna tu_

_Quanti sono i canti che hai ascoltato gi_

_Desideri che attraverso i secoli_

_Han solcato il cielo per raggiungerti_

_Porto__ per poeti che non scrivono_

_E che il loro senno spesso perdono_

_Tu accogli sospiri di chi spasima_

_E regali un sogno ad ogni anima_

_Luna che mi guardi adesso ascoltami_

"You are the Moon." The voice was deep, vibrant and warm, caressing the words as he sang them. "The Moon who, through the centuries, has heard the songs of man rent the heavens to reach her. The safe harbor of poets who do not write and often lose their minds. Who hears the sighs of their yearning and understands them. Who gives us all to dream."

He felt, rather than saw, her drawing back. He stepped forward once, pressing his hands to his chest, over hers.

"Moon, look at me, listen to me."

_Only you can hear my soul_

Her words whispered softly on the wind, and he felt her disquiet. His spirit reached out for hers in a silent plea to share with him her trouble.

_Luna tu_

_Che conosci il tempo dell'eternit_

_E il__ sentiero stretto della verit_

_Fà più luce dentro questo cuore mio_

_Questo cuore d'uomo che non sa, non sa_

"Moon, you who knows the time of eternity, the vulnerable truth, relieve my heart, this heart that knows nothing…"

She did not speak, but through her touch she confided in him. Eyes gazed up at her from the earth below, seeking relief from suffering and hardship. She did not know what would comfort them.

_What is the solution, my love?_

_Che l'amore può nascondere il dolore_

_Come un fuoco ti può bruciare l'anima_

The answer to the question had changed his entire existence, had welled inside him so greatly that even the heavens had taken notice all those years ago. The power of it was so great in him, so consuming, that it could have been bestowed on no mortal, only a goddess. That power impassioned his words, resonated from him through her hands to make her feel what he felt.

"Love can ease the pain, like a fire that burns the soul."

_Luna tu_

_Tu rischiari il cielo e la sua immensit_

_E ci mostri solo la metà che voi_

_Come poi facciamo quasi sempre noi_

_Angeli di creta che non volano_

_Anime di carta che il si incendiano_

_Cuori come foglie che poi cadono_

_Sogni fatti d'aria che svaniscono_

_Figli della terra e figli tuoi_

_Che sai_

His voice was softer, yet more intense as he continued.

"Moon, you light the heavens in all their immensity, but only what you wish to show is perceived. The world below cannot see that you share their pain, that it is held back, like porcelain angels that do not fly. And so their souls burn like paper, their hearts fall like leaves, and their dreams vanish like smoke, because they believe no one knows their sorrow. But there is a way to ease them, the children of the earth and of yourself…"

The wind and the sea had awakened themselves in response to his song. She slipped behind him, encouraging him to move forward.

_You know the answer they seek._

He stopped at the stone wall, a silver halo shimmering around his body and circling his head. The black jacket slipped from his shoulders to fall at his feet before a gap appeared in the wall, allowing him to walk through to stand on the sandy bank.

The voices of water and air echoed around him as the Moon joined her power with his, slipping her arms around him from behind.

_Speak for me._

_Che l'amore può nascondere il dolore_

_Come un fuoco ti può bruciare l'anima_

His voice soared, and the lunar winds and waves carried his words to their counterparts below on earth, to the ears of the Lady's supplicants. The power, both his own and hers, coursed through him, through his voice as though it were a flame that was devouring him. The sounds of the air and the sea rose in symphony around them.

"Love can ease the pain, like a fire that burns the soul."

_Ma è il con l'amore che respira il nostro cuore_

_È la forza che tutto muove e illumina_

The children of the earth lifted their heads as the words of the Moon's minion came to them on the wings of the air and the chimes of the water.

"The love that breathes in our hearts can move and illuminate everything."

_Only you can hear my soul_

The song faded from his lips at last. The Moon and her lover gazed down at the earth and saw the relief of those whose prayers they had answered. Her unseen fingers gently traced his jawbone.

_Magnificent, my love._

_Alba lux, diva mea, diva es silentissima_

She felt his shoulders slump in her embrace as the weariness of his night's work set in. He turned slightly in her arms. The wind echoed his words as he spoke.

"Light dawns, my silent goddess."

_Only you can hear my soul_

_Yes. Go to your rest now, my darling. I will join you again soon._

She released her hold on him, and watched his retreating figure lovingly as he returned to the white palace before turning her gaze back to the earth. The Sun's time was approaching, hers would soon be at an end for another day. But as she began to gather her mantle from the sky, she smiled at the knowledge that her beloved's understanding had made it possible for earth's children to face that day.

_Alba lux, diva mea, diva es silentissima_

She heard his words again in her mind, and finished her withdrawal from the sky.

A short while later, in a room dressed in shades of white and silver, the slim, delicate form of a beautiful dark haired woman moved to a bed. A gentle smile graced her fine-boned features as she admired her companion, who lay asleep. Her white silk gown rustled softly as she climbed into the bed.

He awakened at the touch of her hand on his shoulder. Smiling, he gathered her into his arms, and they held one another as she placed a long kiss on his lips.

Together, they drifted off to await another night.


End file.
